In a liquid crystal device, an element substrate having an image display region where a plurality of pixel electrodes is arranged on one surface and a counter substrate having a common electrode to which a common potential is applied are bonded by a sealing member. Moreover, a liquid crystal layer is held inside a region surrounded by the sealing member between the element substrate and the counter substrate. The liquid crystal device is used as a direct-view display device or a light valve of a projection-type display apparatus.
In such a liquid crystal device, image sticking (smear) or the like of an image, which causes deterioration in display quality, occurs when ionic impurities mixed at injection time of liquid crystal or ionic impurities eluted from the sealing member cohere inside the image display region by driving of the liquid crystal device. Accordingly, there has been suggested a technique for preventing the ionic impurities from cohering inside the image display region by forming peripheral electrodes outside the image display region and by drawing and retaining the ionic impurities in the peripheral electrodes (see, e.g., FIG. 4 of JP-A-2008-58497).
More specifically, according to the technique such as disclosed in FIG. 4 of JP-A-2008-58497, first and second peripheral electrodes are formed so as to surround the circumference of the image display region, different potentials are applied to the first and second peripheral electrodes, the polarities of the potentials to be applied to the first and second peripheral electrodes for each frame are reversed, and minute fluctuation of the liquid crystal and the movement of the ionic impurities are achieved by a transverse electric field between the first and second peripheral electrodes.
However, a problem may arise in that the peripheral electrodes for trapping the ionic impurities may not be disposed at appropriate positions when a difference in height between the image display region and a peripheral region is reduced by forming dummy pixel electrodes in the peripheral region through a conductive film located at the same layer of that of the pixel electrode and the inside of the image display region is flattened. For example, when the peripheral electrodes for trapping the ionic impurities are formed on the inner side of the regions where the dummy pixel electrodes are formed, a distance between the peripheral electrodes and the image display region becomes too short. Therefore, the ionic impurities trapped by the peripheral electrodes have an influence on the image display region. On the other hand, when the peripheral electrodes for trapping the ionic impurities are formed on the outer side of the regions where the dummy pixel electrodes are formed, the ionic impurities inside the image display region may rarely be attracted by the peripheral electrodes.